stone



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. STONE. REED BOARD.

No. 315,449. Patented Apr. 7, 1885.

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F. STONE.

REED BOARD.

No. 315,449. Patented Apr. '7, 1885..

H a r ys xix i it? I= UNITED STATES PATENT @rrros.

FRANK STONE, OF VORGESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE MUN- ROE ORGAN REED COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

REED-BQARD.

SPECIFICATIQN f- To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that l, FRANK STONE, of \Vor" cester, in the county of lVorcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in TubeBoards for Musical Instruments; and I declare the following to be a description of my said invention, sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable others skilled in the art to which it apro pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My presentinvention relates to the construction of tube-boards for musical reed-instruments and the manner of arranging the reeds therein relatively to the air-passages into and from the tubes, the object being to attain a more uniform and perfect action of the several reeds throughout the set and to enhance the power and quality of the tones according to the pitch of the respective reeds.

To this end my invention consists in the peculiar adaptation and relative location of the respective reeds and tubes with their airinlet and exit ducts, as hereinafter more fully described.

Figure 1 is a transverse vertical section of a tube-board constructed in accordance with my invention at a position near the higher 0 end of the scale. Fig. 2 is a similar sectional view at a position near the lower end of the scale. Fig. 3 is a plan or horizontal sectional view of the tube-board, showing the relative arrangement of the reeds in the tubes and 5 their positions in relation to the air openings or passages into andfrom the tubes, thelocation of the inlet air-ducts being indicated by dot-ted squares and crosses, and the exit-ducts by dotted circles or ellipses, while the relative o alignment positions of the parts in series between the extremities of the tube-board or scale are indicated by diagram lines at the ends of the view.

In reference, the letter D denotes the tube 4 5 board. Gindicates the tubes or reedcells; d, the reeds; c, the inlet air-ducts; o, the exit air-ducts, and D a gate or bar :for closing the mouths of the tubes. The construction of the tube-board D and the peculiar location and go arrangement of the reeds and air-ducts is more par; of Letters Patent No. 315,49, dated April 7, 1885.

(No model.)

I fully illustrated in Fig. 3, the dotted crossed squares indicating the positions of the inlet ducts c, and the dotted circles or ellipses the positions of the air-passages 12 below the reeds (Z. The board D is made somewhat wider than the ordinary single tubeboards, and the reed plates are set entirely within the cells, the lower-toned reeds being inserted to a proportionally greater extent than the higher-toned reeds. (See lines s s and m :0, Fig. 3.) The location of the air-ducts e in relation to the reeds d is such as to admit the air above the heel of the reed, and the location of the reed is such as to give proportionally greater length of tube for the lower-toned reeds than for the 6 5 higher-toned reeds. The spaces in between the heel end of the reeds and front line of the board increasing in dimension as they doscend the scale. (See also lines a c and x .r, Fig. 3.) The said air-ducts or openings 6 for the higher-toned reeds are proportionally nearer the vibrating end of the tongues than are the ducts for the lower-toned reeds. (See lines 0 e and 15 t, Fig. 3.) The air-passages 42 below the reeds are located under the points of the tongues and increase in dimension relatively towards the root of the tongues as the size of the reed increases down the scale, including proportionally more of the tongue exposure as the pitch descends. (See lines t t, '0 o, and r a, Fig. 3.) These relations or variations may be continued in the same order with an increased length of scale or with a greater or less number of reeds in the set than here shown. 3y this peculiar arrangement of the reeds in the board, and the location of the air-inlets in relation thereto, as set forth, the attack of the air on the reed-tongues is conditioned to their relative capacities or to the respective vibratory action or pitch of the different reeds, so that each reed'in the set is caused to give a remarkably full, clear tone, and all the reeds are caused to act with equal proniptness, power, and freedom from choking effect, thus enabling me to produce a superior and sensitive instrument having uniform quality and clearness of tone throughout its range. The proportional increase in the length of tube or distance from the point of air-entrance to the point of the reed-tongue is a feature distinct from the increase due to the enlargement of the reeds for lower tones, as may readily be seen by a comparison of the relative positions of the air-inlets as regards the reed-tongues in Figs. 1 and 2, and the rel ative size of the spaces m, which enlarge in regular order downward of the scale, while the point of aii inlet bears substantially the same relation to the front-line,s, of the board D in the high orsmall reeds as on the low or larger reeds. If an openn1outh tube or cell is desired, the front of the tube-board may be beveled oif on the line I) I), which intersects the top of the cells at a similar position to the inlet-ducts 0. This tube-board is more especially adapted for use with an exhaust or suction bellows.

What I claim as of my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. A tube-board for musical instruments having a series of reed-cells which are severally prolonged in excess of the length of the reeds contained therein in a proportionally increasing order downwardly of the scale, with the lower-toned reeds inserted to a pro portionally greater longitudinal distance beyond the position of air inlet than are the higher-toned reeds, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

2. The tubeboard having its cells formed as hereinbefore specified, each successive cell in descending order being made with a proportionally increased length in excess of the length of the reed-block contained therein, and having air-passages to said cells located in relation to the respective reeds in the on der shown and described.

Witness my hand this l-ith day of April, A. D. 1882.

FRANK. STONE. lVitnesses:

Girls. ll. BURIJEIGIT, GEO. .ll. RICE. 

